Pests (invertebrates, insects, arachnids, larvae thereof, etc.) are annoying to humans for a myriad of reasons. They have annually cost humans billions of dollars in crop losses and in the expense of keeping them under control. For example, the losses caused by pests in agricultural environments include decreased crop yield, reduced crop quality, and increased harvesting costs.
Over the years, synthetic chemical pesticides have provided an effective means of pest control. For example, one approach teaches the use of complex, organic insecticides, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,376,784 and 4,308,279. Other approaches employ absorbent organic polymers for widespread dehydration of the insects. See, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,985,251; 4,983,390; 4,818,534; and 4,983,389. Use of inorganic salts as components of pesticides has also been tried, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,423,284 and 4,948,013, European Patent Application No. 462 347, Chemical Abstracts 1 19(5):43357q (1993) and Farm Chemicals Handbook, page c102 (1987).
However, it has become increasingly apparent that the widespread use of synthetic chemical pesticides has caused detrimental environmental effects that are harmful to humans and other animals. For instance, the public has become concerned about the amount of residual chemicals that persist in food, ground water and the environment, and that are toxic, carcinogenic or otherwise incompatible to humans, domestic animals and/or fish. Moreover, some target pests have even shown an ability to develop immunity to many commonly used synthetic chemical pesticides. In recent times, regulatory guidelines have encouraged a search for potentially less dangerous pesticidal compositions via stringent restrictions on the use of certain synthetic pesticides. As a result, elimination of effective pesticides from the market has limited economical and effective options for controlling pests. As an alternative, botanical pesticides are of great interest because they are natural pesticides, i.e., toxicants derived from plants that are safe to humans and the environment
With respect to termites, the safety issue is even more critical. The most effective termiticide of the past thirty years, chlordane, has recently been banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because of its toxicity to mammals and the environment, and the other alternatives are also under review. Most termiticides in use today are limited in usage and heavily regulated by government agencies. Since termites destroy wood and affect the structural integrity of buildings, homes and other facilities, and termites are spreading into expanded areas, the use of termiticides is always under review by many groups, including but not limited to state governmental units, environmental groups, consumer safety groups, and consumer advocate groups. The danger to both the environment and persons is the dominant issue with the current use of termiticides for both dry wood and subterranean termites. For subterranean termites in particular, it is common to pretreat the ground beneath the concrete slab or foundation, to protect against termite infestation. Unfortunately, in addition to the negative exposure to the environment of toxic chemicals, this single treatment is not totally effective. Moreover, subsequent treatments are prohibited by law in most jurisdictions due to various toxicity concerns unless an infestation is found, at which point it is usually too late to prevent damage to the structure. It would be desirable to provide a safe method of retreatment to supplement the pretreatment and provide an additional layer of protection. In addition, it would be desirable to provide a repellent barrier of protection under the ground to avoid the structure entirely. It would also be desirable to treat the structure or the concrete slab during construction to provide a repellent/pesticidal barrier of protection. It would also be desirable to incorporate the pesticidal composition into the concrete slab itself, as opposed to treating the ground beneath the concrete slab. This would preserve the pesticidal properties of the pesticidal compositions and minimize environmental impact.
Accordingly, there is a great need for novel pesticidal compositions, containing no pyrethrum, synthetic pyrethroids, chlorinated hydrocarbons, organo phosphates, carbamates and the like, to be used against termites. In addition, there is a need for a method of treating the structure and foundation to kill and repel termites.